The Mitchell Kernels girls basketball team thought they were past games like Thursday night.
But nothing seemingly went right and the Kernels were on the wrong end of another blowout.
A 33 percent shooting night and sluggish defense from Mitchell set the table for Watertown to cruise to a 51-30 win Thursday in an Eastern South Dakota Conference game Thursday at the Corn Palace.
It looked nothing like the 40-37 Mitchell win from Jan. 6 in Watertown and Mitchell coach Wes Morgan felt the Kernels took steps backward again Thursday.
"We were getting better, getting better and we just didn't do any of those things that we've been doing," Morgan said. "I don't know if we weren't ready to play but we were just weren't very good tonight."
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The Arrows broke an early 9-9 tie in the second quarter with 6-0 run on a pair of Megan Fannin 3-pointers and the quarter came to a close on a 9-2 run, punctuated with another Fannin 3-pointer as Mitchell went to the half down 25-15.
Things didn't get much better for the Kernels from there. Watertown had an 8-0 run early in the third quarter, powered by three baskets from Jackie Tetzlaff and led 33-17 midway through the quarter. Mitchell trailed by 14 to start the third quarter and managed to cut the lead to 11 but could not get any closer.
"I thought we would be past this by this point of the season," Morgan said. "We have way too much talent and skill on this team to be playing games like this. We have to come prepared and I don't think we did that tonight."
Mitchell was led by Mackenzie Miller's 10 points and five rebounds. Tess Limberg had five points for the Kernels, which made 25 percent of their shots and were 2-of-7 on 3-pointers. Mitchell, which committed 16 turnovers, made 10-of-15 free throws.
Watertown was paced by three players in double-figures, led by Fannin's 12 points off the bench. Jackie Tetzlaff and Taylor Terrones each had 10 points, as the Arrows shot 40 percent in the win and 16-of-22 at the free throw line.
Arrows coach Todd Jutting said his team had a better mindset on Thursday than they did the first time they met Mitchell. He said they made it a point to pressure the Kernel guards.
"Most games, we don't want to speed the game up but tonight, we wanted to get after them and try to get them to turn the ball over with their guards," Jutting said. "We wanted to keep it out of the posts and fortunately they weren't hitting shots either. We've been there and we know what that feels like, too."
Mitchell (3-12, 2-10 ESD) will host Aberdeen Central on Monday at the Corn Palace. The contest is a make-up game and will start at 7 p.m.
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Subvarsity:
JV: Mitchell 44, Watertown 37. Carly Haring had 17 points and Chelsea Brewster added 14 in the win.
Sophomores: Watertown 39, Mitchell 19. Gia Winger scored seven points for the Kernels.
Watertown 51, Mitchell 30
Watertown (4-12, 4-9 ESD): Taylor Terrones 2-4 4-5 10 Maria Gloe 1-7 1-2 3 Jackie Tetzlaff 5-8 0-0 10 Mateya Walder 1-1 4-5 6 Annie Norbert 2-5 0-0 4 Morgan Hansen 0-0 0-0 0 Cassie Quail 0-4 3-4 3 Megan Fannin 3-6 3-4 12 Meghan Heggelund 1-2 1-2 3 Totals 15-37 16-22 51
Mitchell (3-12, 2-10 ESD): Mandy Schmidt 0-3 0-0 0 Tess Limberg 2-4 0-0 5 Kendra Brewster 1-2 0-1 2 Mackenzie Miller 1-3 8-8 10 Jenna Weich 0-0 2-2 2 Jordyn Cranny 1-5 0-2 3 Shianne Hiemstra 0-1 0-0 0 Chelsea Brewster 1-2 0-0 2 Payton Morgan 1-4 0-0 2 Carly Haring 2-2 0-0 4 Bailey Kahler 0-0 0-0 0 Brittany Robinson 0-0 0-2 0 Totals 9-27 10-15 30
W 8 25 37 51
M 7 15 23 30
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3-point goals: W 5-12 (Fannin 3, Terrones 2), M 2-7 (Cranny, Limberg). Rebounds: W 19 (Terrones 5), M 18 (Miller 5). Total fouls: W 16, M 20. Fouled out: none. Assists: W 9 (Gloe 3), M 4 (Schmidt 1, C. Brewster 1, K. Brewster 1, Weich 1) Turnovers: W 8, M 16. Blocks: W 0, M 3 (K. Brewster 2). Steals: W 10 (Gloe 3, Walder 3), M 8 (Limberg 2, Miller 2)
